A radical homemaker in Sudbury, Northern Ontario, making bread, shopping smart and conducting experiments in living.

A simple yet powerful meditation

I learned this meditation in a book by Thich Nhat Hanh; I’m not sure which one–they are all so wonderful–so I can’t give specific credit, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind. I love his writing; you can feel him smiling through the pages at you.

Breathing in, I relax my body.

Breathing out, I smile.
Breathing in, I know that I am in the present moment.
Breathing out, I know that this is a wonderful moment.

There have been so many times lately when I have felt over-run by life, and then have stopped, breathed, relaxed and smiled, when I have been able to re-claim what would otherwise be a moment lost to stress. When I’ve been able to use it to completely turn the page on a bad, stuck head-space, it’s like a secret passage into another reality.

So often I begin wanting things when I’m feeling yucky, or bored, or frustrated with the slowness of life. This meditation has brought me back from that general state of wantiness, into a gentle satisfaction with my present reality.